Humanitarian Assistance as the Restoration of Human Dignity and Social Trust

Beyond food and shelter, humanitarian aid can help people reclaim dignity, trust, and hope for the future.

Introduction

Over the past six years of working with refugees, forced migrants, deserters, conscientious objectors, former military personnel, and people affected by war and political repression, we have come to understand that humanitarian assistance is far more than the distribution of food, clothing, shelter, or financial aid.

In public discourse, humanitarian assistance is often perceived as a collection of material resources necessary for physical survival. Our practical experience, however, has shown that its true significance lies elsewhere. Humanitarian assistance is one of the most powerful tools for restoring human dignity, rebuilding trust in other people, and helping individuals become part of society again.

A person who has experienced war, forced displacement, persecution, the loss of home, documents, employment, or their familiar social environment loses more than material stability. Very often, they also lose their sense of self-worth, their sense of agency, and their belief that the world is capable of treating them with respect.

For this reason, humanitarian assistance must begin not with things, but with the way we relate to people.

The Invisible Problem Within the Humanitarian Sector

Throughout the years, we have repeatedly encountered a disturbing phenomenon here in Lithuania that is rarely discussed publicly.

There are a significant number of organisations that appear to provide substantial humanitarian assistance, yet people receive this material support at the cost of their dignity, while being subjected to humiliation, abuse, and degrading treatment.

Recipients of assistance frequently encounter arrogance, insults, accusations, ridicule, moral pressure, and humiliation. They are told, either directly or indirectly, that they are responsible for their own problems, that their stories are not convincing enough, that their cases are not “good enough,” that they themselves are somehow inadequate, insufficiently grateful, or undeserving of support.

People endure such treatment because they are dependent and often have no alternative. They need food, shelter, medicine, or legal assistance in order to survive.

The consequences of this approach, however, are deeply destructive and, most importantly, produce exactly the opposite effect from what humanitarian assistance is intended to achieve.

As soon as people have an opportunity to live without this assistance, they leave. They do not simply leave the organisation; they often abandon the very idea of mutual support altogether. Trust is replaced by disgust and resentment. Solidarity and mutual aid give way to a firm conviction that one can rely only on oneself and that it is best to stay away from civil society organisations entirely. Instead of community, atomisation emerges.

As a result, society loses not only one individual but also a potential volunteer, activist, future helper of others, and carrier of a culture of solidarity and mutual support.

We are convinced that humiliation and abusive treatment during the provision of humanitarian assistance constitute one of the most serious and, at the same time, one of the most invisible problems in our region, particularly within Belarusian exile communities.

Restoring Dignity as the First Form of Crisis Assistance

Almost every day we encounter a similar situation.

A person arrives at the door of our office carrying the weight of a difficult life experience.

They often have no documents. Their eyes are wide with fear. They clutch a handful of papers to their chest — sometimes a child. More often than not, they have already had negative experiences with other organisations where they were humiliated and made to feel that their life story was somehow not perfect enough to deserve the attention of people who considered themselves important.

They arrive cautious, frightened, and unable to trust anyone. Sometimes they are so emotionally exhausted that they cannot tell their story coherently. Most often they lack documentation, legal status, housing, employment, or access to healthcare. They are psychologically devastated, overwhelmed by uncertainty, and often trapped in panic, anxiety, and deep mistrust after everything they have endured.

Yet the first thing such a person needs is often neither food nor money.

The first need is the restoration of human dignity.

People must feel that they are not being treated as a problem, a burden, or an object of social work. They must see that the people standing before them are willing to help not because they are weak or helpless, but because helping another human being in a difficult situation is a normal and natural human act. They must feel that they are one of us — a fellow human being who simply happens to be going through a difficult period of life.

Very often, simple actions prove more important than any formal support programme:

listening attentively;
expressing genuine empathy;
offering tea and sitting down together to talk;
giving a hug when appropriate;
showing that the person is not alone.

Sometimes this kind of human presence has a greater impact than substantial amounts of material assistance.

Why Humanitarian Assistance Opens Hearts

Receiving help and experiencing genuine support creates a unique social and emotional bond between people.

When individuals receive support at a moment of extreme vulnerability, they begin to learn how to trust others again.

Even people carrying the deepest psychological wounds gradually emerge from a state of constant vigilance, defensiveness, fear, and mistrust toward the world around them.

One of our beneficiaries became a particularly important example for us. At the age of six, he was placed in an orphanage by his own mother, who believed that he was “possessed by demons.” Later in life, he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. For most of his life, physical contact existed for him in only two forms: violence or sexual relations. He had never experienced safe human closeness that was free from threats, control, manipulation, or hidden expectations.

As a result, it was extraordinarily difficult for him simply to hug another person. Not as part of a romantic or sexual relationship. Not as an element of a transaction or obligation. But simply because someone was genuinely happy to see him and wanted to express warmth, care, and acceptance.

It took a long time before he learned this simple gesture of trust and was able to return a hug himself.

This is why hugs, smiles, sharing tea together, taking a genuine interest in each other’s lives, and other simple expressions of human care are never regarded as secondary in our office. For us, these are not additions to humanitarian work. They are an integral part of it.

Because the restoration of dignity does not begin with documents, financial assistance, or even the resolution of practical problems. It begins at the moment when a person once again experiences safe, respectful, and compassionate human relationships.

This process is rarely quick. It is often accompanied by anxiety, fear, tears, panic, mistrust, and the long-term consequences of trauma.

Yet it is precisely through such relationships that the possibility of social reintegration and a return to peaceful life becomes possible.

For this reason, humanitarian assistance should not be understood merely as the distribution of resources, but as the creation of spaces of trust, solidarity, and mutual support.

From Recipient of Assistance to Member of a Community

One of the most serious shortcomings of many humanitarian systems is that people are reduced to the role of recipients and consumers of assistance.

We believe that assistance should always be accompanied by opportunities for participation and opportunities to give something back to society.

People should not only receive support; they should also have the opportunity to contribute.

This is not about coercion or mandatory service. It is about restoring a sense of usefulness, purpose, and belonging.

Some people can help welcome newcomers.

Others can accompany people around the city.

Some can assist in organising community events.

Others can simply listen to someone who is going through a similar experience.

Such participation fundamentally changes a person’s internal position. They cease to see themselves solely as victims of circumstances and begin to experience themselves as members of a community that creates positive change and supports others.

Mutual Support Groups as an Investment in Resilience

Self-help and mutual-support groups play a particularly important role.

We do not view them as an additional activity, but as a strategic investment in the resilience of communities.

In practice, it is precisely these relationships that help people solve many everyday problems without having to rely constantly on organisations.

Mothers begin caring for one another’s children.

People help each other search for jobs.

They exchange information, send encouraging messages in group chats, and maintain regular contact.

They support one another during moments of crisis.

They create a sense of belonging and safety.

Such horizontal networks significantly reduce social isolation and help people rebuild their ability to trust others.

Skills for Peaceful Coexistence

Building a community requires specific skills.

People who have experienced war, repression, or forced migration often carry trauma, fears, and different cultural patterns of behaviour.

For this reason, it is important to invest in learning and practising:

nonviolent communication;
conflict resolution;
mediation;
emotional self-regulation;
mutual respect;
intercultural dialogue.

At the same time, such learning should not be organised according to a model in which some people are treated as experts while others are viewed as “broken” individuals in need of correction.

More sustainable approaches are based on mutual learning: study circles, peer-support groups, living libraries, discussion groups, and other forms of horizontal exchange where people learn from one another’s experiences.

Telling One’s Story

One of the most important elements of recovery is the opportunity to tell one’s own story.

A person who is able to reflect on what they have experienced and share it with others gradually ceases to see themselves solely as a victim.

Instead, they begin to see themselves as someone who has endured profound hardships and survived them.

Such a transformation of identity has a powerful therapeutic effect.

The story ceases to be merely a source of pain and becomes a source of experience, inspiration, knowledge, and inner strength.

Food as a Space of Trust

The sharing and distribution of food has a special significance.

Throughout human history, eating together has been one of the most important ways of building trust, creating social bonds, and fostering a sense of belonging.

Our experience shows that even having a small reserve of non-perishable food can create a sense of security, reduce anxiety and panic, and strengthen confidence in the future.

When people know that they have enough food for the coming days or weeks, they begin to think not only about survival, but also about the future.

For this reason, food assistance plays not only a material role, but also a profound psychological one.

Conclusion

We view humanitarian assistance not as a one-time transfer of resources, but as a process of restoring human dignity, trust, reciprocity, and social connectedness.

Successful humanitarian assistance does not end when food is distributed or a bill is paid.

It ends when a person becomes a source of support for others.

At that moment, assistance ceases to be an expenditure of resources and becomes an investment in a peaceful, resilient, and caring society built on solidarity.